17-year-old was killed by Tennessee cop in school bathroom. Now his mom is suing
The mother of a 17-year-old student who was killed by police in the bathroom of his Tennessee high school last year has filed a civil rights lawsuit against city and county officials.
Anthony Thompson Jr. had a gun in his pocket that he reportedly carried out of fear for his safety when he was shot by officers with the Knoxville Police Department at Austin-East Magnet High School on April 12, 2021.
If school administrators and the responding officers had followed procedure, his mom said, her son he might still be alive.
Chanada Robinson, Anthony’s mother and a speech therapist who works for Knox County schools, along with Gralyn Strong, his best friend who reportedly witnessed his death, filed suit in the Eastern District of Tennessee on Monday, April 11.
The complaint names the city of Knoxville, Knox County, the Knox County Board of Education and the Knoxville police officers involved as defendants.
They include Brian Baldwin, Stanley Cash, Jonathon Clabough and Adam Willson.
Lawyers representing Robinson and Gralyn did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment. A school district spokesperson declined to comment.
The city of Knoxville also declined to comment on pending litigation except to release a statement from Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon.
“I can say that April 12, 2021 was a tragic day for the Thompson family, our officers, the school system, and our entire city,” Kincannon said. “Anthony Thompson died before reaching his full potential and my thoughts remain with his family today.”
How was Anthony Thompson shot?
Anthony was dating another student, according to the lawsuit, but their relationship was sometimes “turbulent.”
On the day he died, the couple reportedly had an argument, after which his girlfriend went home and Anthony stayed at school but didn’t go to his classes, the complaint states. His girlfriend’s mom reportedly called police just before 2 p.m. and said Anthony had a gun and had threatened her daughter.
When police arrived at the high school, his mom’s lawyer said, Anthony and his best friend Gralyn were sitting in bathroom stalls on their phones.
According to the complaint, the responding officers bypassed the principal and went straight to the school resource officer. Together, the officers confronted Anthony in the bathroom, where they reportedly asked him to stand up and remove his hands from his hoodie pocket.
Anthony took a step forward, removed one hand and kept the other in his pocket, the lawyers said, at which point one of the officers grabbed his free arm.
A struggle ensued with two of the officers reaching into Anthony’s pocket at the same time while he said, “Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,” according to the lawsuit. The gun in his pocket then went off.
Four seconds passed between Anthony’s gun firing and Clabough reportedly shooting him. Attorneys said Anthony was removing his other hand from his pocket when the fatal shot rang out.
Clabough was also accused of firing a second shot that hit the school resource officer, who recovered after surgery.
While the school resource officer “climbed on top of Anthony to handcuff him,” Gralyn came out of the neighboring stall with his hands up, the lawsuit states. Lawyers said Gralyn was instructed to get on the ground, where he was placed in handcuffs as he reportedly begged the officers to help Anthony.
“That’s my brother! Forget me! Help my brother!” Gralyn said, according to the complaint. “Please help him! Please! Please! What ya’ll doin’!”
Gralyn was not suspected of committing any crime, the attorneys said, and no first aid was rendered to Anthony in the meantime.
“Gralyn began sobbing uncontrollably while Officer Cash stood over Anthony’s prone body and washed Anthony’s blood from his hands in the bathroom sink,” the lawsuit states.
In a statement released just before 5:30 p.m. on the day of the shooting, police said officers went to the school based on reports that a student was armed. They confirmed a male died at the scene while another person was taken in for questioning.
Anthony’s mom was also questioned at the police station by an agent with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation after the shooting, according to the lawsuit. She was not told her son was dead until she demanded to know where he was, her lawyer said.
It took two days of calling hospitals to find Anthony’s body, the suit states.
‘Just wants Anthony to disappear’
Robinson never knew her son had a gun until after he died, according to the complaint. Her lawyer said Anthony feared for his safety because at least four area high school students had been shot and killed over six weeks early last year, and his girlfriend’s family had also threatened him.
The Knox County District Attorney’s Office declined to file charges against any of the officers involved, saying they acted in self-defense, NBC News reported.
A 21-year-old man, however, was charged with giving Anthony the gun. The DA’s office said Kelvon Foster met Anthony at a pawn shop where he picked out a Glock Model 45 9mm handgun that Foster bought for him.
According to the lawsuit, an agreement between school officials and local law enforcement had been put in place “to manage precisely the type of tragedy that occurred at Austin East on April 12.”
Attorneys said the principal and law enforcement could have taken steps under that plan to protect Anthony — such as calling his mom to pick him up, talking to law enforcement about how to approach him safely, sending him to talk to his mentor or utilizing a crisis intervention trained officer.
They said Anthony’s death has had a profound impact on his siblings and on Gralyn, all of whom have sought mental health treatment.
Gralyn has also experienced nervous breakdowns and panic attacks around police officers. He’s since been diagnosed with PTSD and depression, attorneys said.
Robinson said she has been denied meetings with city and county officials to discuss what happened because the city “just wants Anthony to disappear,” the lawsuit states.
The complaint accuses police and local officials of unlawful search and seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment, deliberate indifference to Anthony’s medical needs in violation of the 14th Amendment, failure to adequately train officers and failure to implement use-of-force policies on school campuses.
It also makes claims for assault and battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Robinson and Gralyn are seeking damages — including to cover the cost of Anthony’s funeral — as well as something called “Anthony’s Law” that would require stricter police training and de-escalation techniques on school campuses as well as protect family members in the event of a death.
The lawyers also asked for better district policies defining the role of law enforcement on school campuses.
None of the defendants have responded yet, court documents show.
This story was originally published April 11, 2022 at 3:23 PM with the headline "17-year-old was killed by Tennessee cop in school bathroom. Now his mom is suing."
